Experts say that horses are imprinted at a very early age, their experiences in their first days shaping their attitudes and personalities. It happens to humans, too. Sports fans in particular. We've all read about the negativity woven into the psyches of fans with franchises and schools historically used to losing. The Cubs, Jets and Knicks come to mind.. There is a cow college in my beloved state, and when I was a kid, fans there would be muttering "Wait until next year" by late September. Most of us made jokes about their plight. But I was imprinted with -- and spoiled by -- the positive side of believing my teams would do nothing but succeed. In the first ten years of my intense fanhood (1961-1970) my team seemed to always win. They had four regular seasons with no losses. Three national championships. They would end that span with three consecutive conference championships, then tack on three more titles in a row. At roughly the same time, in the years that mattered most, my neighborhood high school's football team made it to the state semi-finals, finals or won state, six times in a thirteen-year stretch. The rest of Larry's Lament is at The History of Longhorn Sports . Photo is Larry with tennis partner Kirk Bohls below and interviewing Coach Akers above.
Yes, I jumped on the Longhorn Bandwagon in ‘61 also. I was 12. The sixties were glorious years to be a Horn Fan. We beat OU 8 or 9 times in a row and the aggys were barely even a pest. I was a student at UT during the 30 game win streak. I was in the Cotton Bowl Jan. 1, 1971 when the streak ended. It was a long trip back to Austin, but I just thought we start another streak the next year. It was heady stuff, but it didn’t happen. The last 12 years have been tough.
I came of age in 1961 also. I was six. The 1960s were good to us. Although most of us tend to forget the 3 straight 6-4 seasons. The 1965 season was the worst because I was at almost every game, and was absolutely stunned to see us lose to Rice, TCU and SMU. What has happened to us since the 2009 season is unfathomable. The game I watched Saturday night might have been the worst Texas team I've ever seen. Yes, I was at the OU blowouts under Mack, but they just felt like we had a horrible day. The Route 66 also felt like an aberration. Saturday night felt like that's who we are.
It takes more than great football players to build a winning program. It takes a positive attitude and a sense of destiny to win close games. OU has that attitude. Texas does not! Team synergy builds winners, not individuals. The Iowa State showed a team that has quit. Uninspired without passion for the game.
What is concerning to me is the sense of inevitability I have that they are going to lose . Just as bad is the feeling I get that the team doesn't care. I don't understand this at all.
The team prepares to lose not win. It was obvious from the first play of the Iowa State game. The Horns were uninspired and the passion to win was missing. In the 54 years, I have been a Longhorn fan this was one of the worse games I have witnessed. There was no fight in Texas.
It takes more than great football players to build a winning program. It takes a positive attitude and a sense of destiny to win close games. OU has that attitude. Texas does not! Team synergy builds winners, not individuals. As a football player at the University of Texas, Jim Bob Moffett learned the lessons necessary to succeed. If you don't know who Jim Bob is, then Google his name. He is one of the most successful Longhorn businessmen ever. Jim Bob loved the Longhorns and did everything he could financially and otherwise to make the Longhorns the best educational and sports program in the country. However, in 2020 Mr. Moffett expressed some concerns about the conflicts between fans, the U.T. Administration, players, and coaches. Jim Bob experienced these same conflicts in 1956 when the Horns only won one game. It was the worse year in the history of Longhorn football, so before he passed away with Covid, he offered advice to those in 2021. Jim Bob says, "you can't win with controversy, whether it's corporate America or athletics. Controversy 'breeds defeat". On the other hand, "Unity breeds success." "In the 1950's we lost that chemistry, that unity, and that led to our demise (as a football program)." "Everyone has to rally around: we have to support the program." Royal was able to quiet the storm of discontent among all the bickering factions by compiling a 6-4 record in 1957. You would have thought the team was undefeated that year. Fans, players, U.T. leaders, and the political power structure for once all were singing from the same Longhorn hymnal. All believed that Texas football was destined for greatness. Team synergy was apparent. Learning from history sheds light on and adds perspective to the present state of Longhorn football. The Longhorn Nation must learn to look backward to move forward. History is a great teacher when people listen; Jim Bob Moffett understood that.
Learning from history sheds light on and adds perspective to the present state of Longhorn football. The Longhorn Nation must learn to look backward to move forward. History is a great teacher when people listen; Jim Bob Moffett understood that. Love this quote, Billy. I say the same thing about our country and world all the time. Many of the answers we seek lie behind us not in front...flies in the face of most conventional "wisdom"..but it is true. I agree on the Horns....
I have long been am admirer of Jim Bob . I wonder if anyone on the current team would understand let alone appreciate what can be learned by looking back
Sam Ehlinger is one of my favorite Longhorns of all time precisely because he played with such passion and was an Orangeblood through and through. I felt like he was holding the team together the last four years. We need to find more players like him. Kids that want to play for Texas.
Knew of a team once that had owned their conference for several years. They were then a preseason pick to finish last. Won the conference by keeping 5 teams off of the scoreboard. How? Teams they played had a hard time getting out of bed the next day. Football is a violent game played by athletes with an attitude. It is the one game where pride of ownership can manifest itself into aggressive play to a level that overcomes better opposing talent. Happens all of the time. It is what makes the game great. Been happening too often to Texas.
